Iwasaki H

Fetal nucleated cells in maternal peripheral blood: frequency and relationship to gestational age

To determine the frequency of fetal nucleated cells in maternal peripheral blood during different stages of pregnancy, 50 primigravidas were investigated by determining the frequency of cells with the Y chromosome using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of Y-specific repetitive sequences of the DYZ1 family. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying the same part of the DYZ1 used as the probe in FISH and a single-copy Y-specific fragment was also carried out for genomic DNA from the same samples. Cells with the hybridization signal were detected by FISH at and after 15 weeks of pregnancy in all pregnant women who gave birth to boys. The ratio of cells with the signal to those without the signal ranged from 1 in 144,000 to 1 in 4,000 with a tendency to increase as the pregnancy advanced. The frequency of fetal cells estimated by the PCR experiments was significantly and positively correlated with that found by FISH. The present study suggests that fetal nucleated cells increase in maternal peripheral blood with advancing gestation, from less than 1 in 100,000 nucleated cells in the first trimester to around 1 in 10,000 at term. These frequencies were much lower than those reported by cytological methods.

Changes in Interleukin 1 Levels in Human Amniotic Fluid with Gestational Ages and Delivery

In order to understand the role of interleukin 1 (IL‐1) in pregnancy, the amount of IL‐1 in normal human amniotic fluid (AF) from various gestational ages and delivery was measured using an ELISA. AF samples were divided into three groups of varying gestational ages. Group 1 of AF was collected by amniocentesis from gestational ages <24 weeks (n = 13). Group 2 was collected transvaginally during delivery following labor ≥36 weeks (n = 36). Group 3 was transabdominally collected from elective cesarean section without labor ≥36 weeks (n −8). IL‐1α was present in AF of early gestational age, 19.2±21.7 pg/ml, in group 1, and appeared to increase with gestational age, 63.4±50.1 pg/ml, in group 3. In contrast, IL‐1β was not detectable in either group 1 or 3. However, the concentration of IL‐1 in group 2 was extremely high (IL‐lα, 233.1±351.9 pg/ml; IL‐1β, 1,093.5±1,369.7 pg/ml) compared to the other groups. Moreover, these concentrations tended to increase with the duration of labor. IL‐1α and IL‐1β concentrations in AF were intimately related. These findings suggest that IL‐1 has some roles during pregnancy and especially during labor.

Congenital chylothorax in a trisomy 21 newborn

SummaryWe here report a case of trisomy 21 with congenital chylothorax. The patient was a male newborn who had been diagnosed as having trisomy 21 with congenital chylothorax. This is the fifth case of the both conditions in English literature. Congenital chylothorax is very rare in a trisomy 21 patient. There, however, may be causal relationship between the two conditions.

Comparison of endothelin-1 concentrations in normal and complicated pregnancies

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) may be important in regulating vascular tone in humans. To understand the role of ET-1 during pregnancy, we measured the concentrations of plasma immunoreactive ET-1 in normal, toxemic (pre-eclamptic or eclamptic), and other complicated pregnancies. There were no significant differences between ET-1 concentrations in normal pregnancy and those in toxemic pregnancy, except in one case with IgA nephropathy and severe toxemia. There also was no significant difference between the ET-1 concentrations in pure toxemia of pregnancy compared with superimposed toxemia of pregnancy. Furthermore, there was no correlation between ET-1 concentrations, blood pressure, or renal function during toxemic pregnancy. Similarly, there were no significant differences between ET-1 plasma levels in normal pregnancies and other complicated pregnancies except for two cases in which much blood was lost due to uterine atony and abruptio placenta. Thus, plasma ET-1 concentrations showed no significant relationship to blood pressure or renal function during normal or toxemic pregnancy, and were not related to the type (pure or superimposed type), grade, or severity of toxemic pregnancy.

Successful Treatment of a Hyperprolactinemic Infertile Woman With a Pituitary Microadenoma Using Hachimijiogan

A hyperprolactinemic infertile woman with a pituitary microadenoma, who was resistant to bromocriptine as a method of bringing on pregnancy, succeeded in having a normal pregnancy and delivery with Hachimi-jio-gan treatment. This paper reports that the patient did not succeed in pregnancy in spite of 16 months of bromocriptine treatment, though her prolactin level gradually decreased and continued to be between 40-60 ng/ml with Hachimi-jio-gan treatment. Although the level of prolactin of the patient did not normalize, she, nevertheless, succeeded in having a normal pregnancy and delivery.

A case of trisomy 21 with holoprosencephaly: The fifth case

SummaryA case of trisomy 21 with holoprosencephaly, the fifth case in the literature, is described. The patient also had extracephalic malformations frequently associated with Down syndrome. The possibility of a causal relationship between trisomy 21 and holoprosencephaly is discussed.